Soul Song
by sundog
Summary: Kurt Hummel lives in a world where animals are the physical manifestation of a persons soul. Even though he has a friend in his demon, he still feels an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Until he meets Blaine Anderson, that is.


_Hi guys!_

_I borrowed the whole demon idea from The Golden Compass, but changed it around a LOT. But the original idea came from a book. I'll be updating as much as I can but with school finishing up, I'm seriously busy. But this idea has been bugging me for a while, so I simply had to start writing! Please, please review and let me know what you think. This is my first fanfiction ever and I haven't seriously written anything for a long time, so I'm sorry if this sucks!... well, I hope you enjoy!_

_**1: Marching On**_

Kurt Hummel let out a groan as he gingerly pulled himself to his feet, grimacing at the sharp pain that radiated across his pale back. He didn't need to look to know that it was covered in splotchy bruises. Old and fresh, his back was probably a disgusting purple-and-yellow-and-green mess. He sent a glare towards the retreating backs of some of the school jocks who were, of course, laughing loudly at his expense, somehow thinking that physical pain was hysterically funny but _holy shit it totally isn't_. Taking a step forward he winced. _That's what happens when you get slammed into lockers on a daily basis_, he thought with a sigh.

Walking down the McKinley hallways always proved challenging and today was no exception. Around him, students hustled and bustled, hurrying to get to their different classes before the bell rang and trapped them in a tiny classroom for an hour. Following them silently for the most part were their demons. Kurt found it very interesting to look at ones demon as that was like looking into a person's soul. Or at least the animal manifestation of ones soul. For example, the blonde cheerleader down the hallway _who seriously shouldn't be wearing those shoes with that sweater, _her demon was a rat. Yeah, a rat. Not particularly cute and cuddly, but it was as close as you were ever going to get to seeing her soul and probably represented what she was like to be around.

As if on cue, Kurt felt the familiar burn at the back of his mind. It wasn't painful really, it was just _there _enough that you could feel the connection, or the bond, that allowed you to communicate with your demon being formed. Even if your demon wasn't in the same room as you, or even state or country, they could still communicate with you in your mind.

_**Kurt?**_

_Yes?_

_**Are you alright? I can feel the anger and fear radiating off you, even from back here in your room. What have they done to you this time? You need to talk to someone Kurt! It's not healthy for you to be dealing with this all on your own!**_

_I'm fine. They just slammed me around a bit. Who would I talk to, Pav? No ones gives a shit about me anyway. The teachers see me slammed up against my locker on a daily basis and they don't do anything._

_**Talk to someone from the Glee Club, maybe that will be easier for you. Maybe talk to Mercedes? Elijah and I were talking an-**_

_Alright Pav, I'll try okay? I have to go. I'll see you when I get home._

_**I still don't understand why you INSIST on leaving me here all the time. It's not fair!**_

_You know why, Pav. I don't want you to get hurt._

_**Are you sure that's all it is Kurt?**_

With a sigh, Kurt realized that Pavarotti had won this round. He had many reasons for not letting his demon come with him to school, the main one being a two-hundred pound jock named Karofsky. Being the only out gay kid at your school really didn't help ward off bullies, and the fact that your demon was a little yellow canary probably wouldn't help things much. But Kurt loved Pav, and he knew that Pav was him through and through. He longed for the freedom that the little songbird had, being able to fly when he wanted to, able to see the world. That's why Kurt was determined to leave Lima one day. He didn't belong here in a crappy little cow town, he belonged in the busy city of New York. He knew that more than anything in the world. Another reason he loved Pav so much was his song. The bird sang with Kurt and somehow the birds beautiful singing voice made his troubles just float away for a while.

Throwing back his shoulders, Kurt walked with his chin up to his English class, already looking forward to when he'd be able to talk to Pav face to face and vent all his anger.

That afternoon as he waited for Glee Club to start, Kurt became lost in thought as he rested his head on his hands. If anyone ever asked how Kurt found himself to be friends with everyone in the Glee club, he wouldn't be able to tell you. There was his tall stepbrother Finn Hudson, followed by his demon, a little black Labrador named Raji. Rachel Berry and her demon named Glinda (after the character from _Wicked_ of course), a silver Ferret. Quinn Fabray and a lioness named Olivia (Pav was really, really scared of Olivia. Kurt couldn't blame him) Santana Lopez and a black panther she called James, her girlfriend Brittany Peirce and Lord Tubbington, an extremely obese tabby cat who according to Brittany had quite a nicotine addiction. Mike Chang and his demon Ven, a large black horse who he occasionally rode around the school grounds (Kurt wasn't really sure how he got away with it). Tina Cohen-Chang and her demon Spark, a tiny little Sugar Glider who sat on her shoulder for most of the day. Next there was Noah _'I prefer Puck' _Puckerman and his demon Gene, a Komodo dragon who was surprisingly sweet and enjoyed having his chin scratched. Artie Abrams and his demon Jodee, a great horned owl who sat perched on the handles of his wheelchair. Mercedes Jones and Elijah the fox who just happened to be Pav's closest friend. And last was Sam evens and his demon, a Golden retriever named Hanson who barked. A _lot_.

So as anyone with a working set of eyes could see, they were a diverse group of individuals but somehow they all managed to fit together for the most part. Sure, they had their love triangles and diva offs, but at the end of the day they were all a family. So Kurt couldn't understand why he was so damn terrified to tell one of them what kept happening with Karofsky. Kurt was launched out of his inner turmoil by the sound of a voice coming from in front of him.

"Are you alright, Boo? You look a little pale."

Looking up, he was greeted by the sight of Mercedes and Eli walking towards him from the choir room door. A small, worried frown was plastered across Mercedes face as she took in his appearance.

"Yeah Kurt," Eli said from beside her, "You really don't look so great. You should bring Pav with you, you know. I know he makes you feel better when he sings. He co-"

"Hush you," Mercedes cut him off by gently clamping a hand around his pointed muzzle. Eli shot her an annoyed glare, his yellow eyes narrowing in obvious irritation.

"I'm fine guys, I promise." Kurt forced a smile as the others began to slowly make their way in through the door, one at a time followed by their demons. For the life of him understand why he couldn't just be honest with them. He wanted to tell them, he really did. But every time he tried the words died in his throat and he just couldn't seem to get the words out though he desperately wanted to. With a groan of frustration, he put his head down on his hands and ignored the worried looks he was receiving from Mercedes and Eli. He sat through the rest of practice without saying a single word.

Kurt thought the best part about coming home was seeing Pav. The little bird was always there when he opened the door, flying in figure eights and loops and tweeting happily. He always took the little bird with him outside and let him fly around, careful not to let him get too far, but enough that he could stretch his tiny wings that were stiff from sitting inside all day. Kurt felt bad about it, he really did, but he couldn't afford to have the little bird with him at school all day. He was seriously worried that the bullying was getting worse, and the last thing he needed was for the yellow canary to get hurt because of it. If your demon dies, so do you. The law states that no human should injure another's demon, but Kurt wouldn't think it unusual if Karofsky tried, anyway.

"So Kurt, what did you do today?" the songbird chirped, landing on Kurt's shoulder as he they started going back towards the house.

Kurt smiled tightly, looking up at the sky. "Not a lot Pav. I guess I sat in crowded classrooms with people I can't stand for 7 hours. It wasn't really all that great or exciting. I would much rather be at home with you, you know."

Pav huffed angrily and puffed up his feathers. "Yeah, well imagine how I feel. I'm trapped in your damn room for those 8 hours when I could be with you instead! I'm your demon, Kurt. I'm supposed to be with you all the time. You'll get sick if you keep me away you know."

Kurt looked down and sighed. "Pav, we have been over this so many times. They can ruin my expensive clothes, make my hair look like shit, and physically hurt me, but I can't let them hurt you. You're way too important and I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you. I'll be okay… we'll be okay. There's only a year and a half left of Highschool and then we'll be going to New York and we'll never have to deal with this again. It's going to be okay, I know it is."

With a sigh, Pav's feathers slowly deflated and he nodded. "Yeah Kurt, if you say so. But I still think you need to talk to someone. Like your dad."

Kurt nodded his head slowly. "I… okay. Okay, I will."

"Tonight?"

"Tonight."


End file.
